Unity at heart of the Mersey beat

So, you're at a dinner party and someone mentions Liverpool. What do you think of? The Beatles, obviously; football, possibly; acerbic Scouse humour; The Liver Birds (if you're old enough); and Bread, maybe. If you're historically minded, you might think of the slave trade, although anyone who experienced the 1980s is more likely to remember Derek Hatton's ultra-left-wing council, the Toxteth riots and queues of unemployed dockers.

Whatever images come to mind, however, they are likely to be out of date. Liverpool has just won the bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2008, regeneration is happening all over the city, and the skyline - both real and metaphorical - is dominated by tower cranes.

Becoming a City of Culture will undoubtedly provide a huge boost to the local economy, with museum openings, exhibitions and all sorts of festival events, and visitor numbers are expected to rise accordingly. But the culture tag is a bit of a headline-grabbing red herring. Liverpool was on the up before the bid was submitted, and the incentive to claim cultural recognition was clearly based on work already in progress.

Working behind the scenes in Liverpool, fusing the operators and the businessmen and the investors together to form a united front, is the Mersey Partnership. "Make it Merseyside for tourism, business, conferences and living," runs the banner. In other words, pull together to make it work. After all, what's the point of attracting visitors to a city if there aren't enough beds for them to sleep in or restaurants to eat in, shops to shop in or buses to travel in? There has to be a co-ordinated approach, a sensible infrastructure and a common purpose.

The phrase "joined-up" (as in "joined-up government") has rather gone out of fashion recently. But it is precisely this kind of unity that has proved the secret of Liverpool's success. And it's one that other regions around the country would do well to adopt, Culture Capital bids or not.

Forbes Mutch, Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper
Sugars with spice Pain d'‚pice (that's gingerbread to you and I) has a fantastic breadth of flavour, which gives its role in the kitchen almost no boundaries. But while it's regularly seen on restaurant menus alongside such decadent partners as foie gras, in this issue we look at how Luke Tipping and Andreas Antona of Simpson's in Kenilworth incorporate the perfectly spongy, honey-and-spice-infused cake in their award-winning desserts.
Amanda Afiya, Chef Editor

United is nice There's nothing like a crisis to bring people together and, in the aftermath of the Sars virus, it's good to see hoteliers pulling together for the greater good. They've sensibly realised that now is not the time for undercutting one another or starting price wars, but have recognised instead that working together can be to everyone's benefit. It's just a pity that it took a crisis like Sars to trigger such co-operation.
Jenny Webster, Hotels Editor